Telescopes: 

The Instrument that Changed the World Forever

Thursday, February 27, 2025, 7 PM EST

MSU-St. Andrews STEM Center (Virtual only)

Did you know that the telescope was invented multiple times?  What are the different kinds of telescopes?  How do each of them work?  What kind of telescopes did the great astronomers of history use, and what did they discover with the equipment available to them?  How do those telescopes differ from the ones that astronomers use today?  How large are research telescopes—and why is size important?  What kind of telescopes can you can buy and use yourself?  Join Dr. Edmund Stark and the MSU-St. Andrews STEM Center by Zoom to learn more! 

Adults and families with school-age or older children are invited to join MSU-St. Andrews virtually for a presentation on telescopes.  We will tell the story of the invention (and re-invention) of the telescope throughout the ages, and will show how this immediately and completely changed the practice of astronomy, as well as our fundamental understanding of our universe.  We will examine the many kinds of telescopes, so that you can understand how different versions actually work, and will reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each type.  Along the way, we will describe some of the telescopes used by history’s greatest astronomers, and what they discovered with them.  We will summarize the largest telescopes being used today.  Perhaps more importantly, we will also discuss what kind of scopes are available for beginning amateur astronomers. 

Plus, we will also talk about what we can see with our own eyes, without telescopes, in the beautiful nighttime skies of March.  Most important:  a total lunar eclipse will be visible from Michigan!  Plus, Jupiter and Mars are visible all night, Venus shines brightly at sunset for a few weeks, and Mercury joins Venus at sunset during that same period.  The landmark constellation of Orion is still in the sky and points the way to all the constellations in the Winter Hexagon, like Taurus, Auriga, Gemini, and Canis Major + Canis Minor, the big and little dogs.  Winter skies have the brightest constellations of the year; don’t miss them!  We will show you how to find all these things (and more) for yourself. 

Presentation (virtual only) on Thursday, February 27, 2025, 7 PM EST

Here is the registration link: https://msu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ynZlL0DtSLq2_JwJzkRw5g